Contractions in English

Neha Karve

Contractions are shortened forms of words and phrases, in which some letters or sounds are omitted. An apostrophe marks the omission. Most contractions in English combine two words to form a single shorter word—for example, do and not combine to form don’t. A contraction may also simply be a single word that is shortened, such as ma’am.

At the end of this article is a full list of standard contractions in English, but here is a quick cheat sheet.

Contracted Forms in English
Full formContractionExamples
notn’tisn’t (is not), don’t (do not), hasn’t (has not), can’t (cannot)
is, has’sshe’s (she is, she has), what’s (what is, what has)
are’reyou’re (you are), we’re (we are)
have’veI’ve (I have), could’ve (could have)
had, would’dI’d (I had, I would), we’d (we had, we would)
will’llI’ll (I will), you’ll (you will)
I amI’m
let uslet’s
madamma’am

As you can see, standard contractions include those that shorten the word not (like don’t, couldn’t), forms of the be verb (I’m, you’re, he’s), the have verb (I’ve, she’s), and the modal verbs will and would (he’ll, you’d). Two other common contractions are ma’am and let’s. We discuss their usage in more detail below, with examples.

Contracted be verb

Forms of the be verb (is, am, are) often join with pronouns (such as I, you, she, they, someone) to form contractions.

Examples
  • Hi, I’m Maya. (I am)
  • You’re right. (you are)
  • She’s funny that way. (she is)
  • They’re waiting. (they are)
  • It’s 3 a.m. (it is)
  • Something’s wrong. (something is)
  • Everyone’s here. (everyone is)

The be verb can also join with nouns to form contractions. These are common in speech and informal writing but not seen in edited prose (except in dialogue in fiction) and never in formal writing.

Examples
  • Rita’s here. (Rita is)
  • The cat’s asleep on the couch. (cat is)

Plural contractions are rarer still in writing (The cats’re asleep).

The be verb can also combine with adverbs to form contractions in speech and informal usage.

Examples
  • Now’s the best time to call her.
  • Here’s your money.
  • There’s nothing here.

Be verb with not

The be verb (is, are, am) contracts with not in two ways: you can either contract the verb form itself or contract not.

Examples
  • Contracted not: Anita isn’t ready.
    is not = isn’t
  • Contracted be verb: She’s not ready.
    she is = she’s

The word not is contracted more often with nouns.

Examples
  • Farley isn’t happy.
    Seen more often than “Farley’s not happy.” (The name “Farley” of course is a noun.)
  • The books aren’t here.
    Seen more often than “The books’re not here.”

But with pronouns, the verb form is contracted more often instead.

Examples
  • She’s not happy.
    Seen more often than “She isn’t happy” (where “she” is a pronoun).
  • They’re not here.
    Seen more often than “They aren’t here.”

Contracted have verb

The have verb combines with pronouns and nouns and contracts to ’ve, ’s, or ’d.

Examples
  • I’ve been looking for this. (I have been)
  • You’ve gone and booked the tickets, haven’t you? (you have gone)
  • It’s been fun. (it has been)
  • He’s found the answer. (he has found)
  • I can’t believe Maya’s published another book. (Maya has published)
  • He’d left by the time you got here. (he had left)

The have verb is not contracted in writing when it is the main verb in a sentence and means “to possess.”

Example
  • Poor: Poco’s seven cars in his garage.
    The main verb is has: Poco has. Don’t contract it.
    Better: Poco has seven cars in his garage.
  • Poor: We’d no money.
    Better: We had no money.
  • but
  • Acceptable: Poco’s bought another car.
    The main verb is bought: Poco has bought. Has functions as an auxiliary (or helping) verb and can be contracted.
  • Acceptable: We’d discovered the cure by then.

Contracted will and would

The modal verbs will and would contract to ’ll and ’d in casual communication.

Examples
  • You’ll figure it out. (you will)
  • You’d never know the difference. (you would)
  • I’ll call you tomorrow. (I will)
  • As kids, we’d play in the woods after school. (we would)
  • They’d pretend I wasn’t there. (they would)

Contractions with multiple meanings

The contracted form ’d can mean both would and had. Context makes it clear what you’re referring to.

Examples
  • She’d left by the time you arrived. (she had)
  • She’d often stop by on her way to work. (she would)

Similarly, the contracted form ’s can represent both is and has.

Examples
  • It’s raining. (it is)
  • It’s been raining all morning. (it has)

Another interesting contraction is what’s, which can mean what is, what has, and even what does in informal usage.

Examples
  • What’s going on? (what is)
  • What’s happened? (what has)
  • What’s that mean? (what does)

Exception: Let’s

Let’s is an exception in that it is a contraction of let us, not let is or let has (which options would be nonsensical anyway).

Examples
  • Let’s go. (let us)
  • Let’s start a business together. (let us)

Contractions in questions

Negative forms using not are contracted in questions both in speech and formal usage.

Examples
  • Hasn’t Rita returned from Neptune yet?
    Not “Has not Rita returned yet?” which would sound odd and archaic.
  • Don’t you want to get paid?
  • Couldn’t you find the answer?
  • Can’t you see I’m busy?

Negative question tags are also always contracted.

Examples
  • Farley should be given another chance, shouldn’t he?
    Not “Should not he?”
  • Rita has come back, hasn’t she?
  • Help me out, won’t you?

Forms of be and have can combine with question words like who and what in speech.

Examples
  • What’s going on? (what is)
  • What’s happened to him? (what has)
  • What’ve you done? (what have)
  • Where’s Anita when you need her? (where is)
  • Where’s she gone? (where has)
  • Where’ve you been? (where have)
  • Who’s that? (who is)
  • Who’s been eating all my porridge? (who has)
  • Who’ve you been talking to? (who have)

Contractions of words like what, where, and there with the plural verb are (what’re, where’re, there’re) are less common than singular forms (what’s, where’s, there’s).

Contraction at end of sentence

Don’t use affirmative contractions at the end of a sentence or a clause.

Examples
  • Incorrect:“Have you ordered the shoes?” “Yes, I’ve.”
    Correct:“Have you ordered the shoes?” “Yes, I have.”
  • Incorrect:“Are you ready?” “I don’t know that I’m.”
    Correct:“Are you ready?” “I don’t know that I am.”
  • Incorrect:“Would you help me if you could?” “Of course I’d.”
    Correct: “Would you help me if you could?” “Of course I would.”

It’s fine to use negative contractions to end a sentence or a clause.

Examples
  • Correct: No, I haven’t.
  • Correct: Of course I wouldn’t.

When to use: Considerations of formality

Contractions are common in speech and informal and creative writing, such as in dialogue.

Examples
  • She’s here. (she is)
  • I don’t know. (do not)
  • I’m happy to help. (I am)
  • We’ve found it! (we have)
  • Let’s not argue. (let us)
  • Didn’t I tell you not to call him?” “Oh, don’t do that. It’s not my fault this happened.”

Avoid using contractions in formal texts, such as cover letters, academic papers, and business reports, which require a more formal tone.

Example
  • Informal: We haven’t accounted for changes in pressure in this study.
    Formal: We have not accounted for changes in pressure in this study.

Contraction vs. possessive

Both contractions and possessives may contain a noun followed by an apostrophe and s. An easy way to check is to try expanding the term: if you can expand it to two words, it’s a contraction; otherwise, it’s a possessive.

Examples
  • Maya’s here.
    Maya’s = Maya is (contraction)
  • Maya’s cat is here.
    the cat that belongs to Maya = possessive

Possessive pronouns (like hers, theirs, its) never contain an apostrophe. If you have an apostrophe and s with a pronoun, it’s a contraction, not a possessive. For example, it’s (with the apostrophe) is a contraction of it is or it has, while its (without an apostrophe) is a possessive.

Examples
  • Contraction: It’s a beautiful day. (it is)
    Possessive: Its cover is lost. (the cover of something)
  • Contraction: Who’s this person in the photo? (who is)
    Possessive: Whose photo is this? (the photo of someone)
  • Contraction: She’s here. (she is)
    Possessive: This is hers. (something that belongs to her)
Tip

If you can expand it, it’s a contraction, not a possessive.

Standard contractions in English

Here is a useful list of commonly used contractions in English.

Standard English Contractions
ContractionMeaning
don’tdo not
didn’tdid not
isn’tis not
wasn’twas not
aren’tare not (also am not)
weren’twere not
hasn’thas not
haven’thave not
hadn’thad not
can’tcannot
couldn’tcould not
shan’tshall not
shouldn’tshould not
won’twill not
wouldn’twould not
mightn’tmight not
mustn’tmust not
oughtn’tought not
needn’tneed not
could’vecould have
should’veshould have
would’vewould have
might’vemight have
must’vemust have
I’mI am
you’reyou are
she’sshe is, she has
he’she is, he has
it’sit is, it has
we’rewe are
they’rethey are
I’veI have
you’veyou have
we’vewe have
they’vethey have
I’llI will
you’llyou will
he’llhe will
she’llshe will
it’llit will
we’llwe will
they’llthey will
I’dI had, I would
you’dyou had, you would
she’dshe had, she would
he’dhe had, he would
it’dit had, it would
we’dwe had, we would
they’dthey had, they would
that’sthat is, that has
that’vethat have
that’dthat would
which’vewhich have
who’swho is, who has
who’rewho are
who’vewho have
who’dwho had, who would
who’llwho will
what’swhat is, what has, what does
what’rewhat are
what’llwhat will
where’swhere is, where has
where’dwhere did
when’swhen is, when has
why’swhy is, why has
why’dwhy did
how’show is, how has
here’shere is
there’sthere is, there has
there’llthere will
there’dthere had, there would
someone’ssomeone is, someone has
somebody’ssomebody is, somebody has
no one’sno one is, no one has
nobody’snobody is, nobody has
something’ssomething is, something has
nothing’snothing is, nothing has
let’slet us
ma’ammadam
o’clockof the clock

English also has other contracted forms, some of which are nonstandard and avoided in writing. For a full discussion, see Types of Contractions in English.

Quick Quiz

Which of these is contracted correctly?
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Which conveys a more formal tone?
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Which of these is preferred?
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Which is acceptable in creative writing?
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Which is correct?
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Which is correct?
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Which is correct?
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All done!